I noticed that there is currently no thread dedicated to the natural phenomenon that is beard growth.

A few points for discussion are:

How does your garden grow?

ladies - do you like a man with a beard or does it make you physically sick?

tips for a healthy beard

style advice

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. My personal focal point for discussion however is, are beards acceptable in the workplace?

I work in an office environment, a firm of solicitors to be precise, and was wondering, if you came to discuss an employment issue or personal injury, would you be perturbed by the fuzzy growth around my cheeks?

I do appear to be in a minority on this site but I really like beards, however I wasn't sure til I met my beautifully bearded boyfriend. He had beard when I met him and has shaved it off a few times since and I always ask him to grow it back. With my ex who most of the time was clean shaven, every time he tried to grow a beard I had to ask him to get rid of it cos it would get to a certain length and I would end up with a nasty case of stubble rash, I haven't had this problem with my current. My brother has a beard but his just grows and grows and grows, he doesn't trim it, he doesn't shape it, he does nothing in order to maintain a nice tidy beard which in my opinion has some bearing on why he has no job. My bf likes to keep his beard trimmed and shaves around it so its looks like a nice tidy well maintained goatee and not like a giant squirrel stuck to his face.

So though in general I like beards, they are best when looked after and not just left to their own devices. Long beards are only acceptable is you list your occupation as ZZ Top.

As long as your beard is short and tidy it wouldn't put me off in any area of work apart from food, I may be a little put off if I went to a cafe or deli etc. and a guy with large beard was serving me. My bf works in an office and nobody has said anything about his beard.

1) Wet face with warm water, leave razor under the tap, to warm up the blades.
2) Use shaving foam around face, (personal preference the gel shaving foam, Gillette/Clineque.
3) Shave each side of the face, removing excess sideburns (big no no) leaving around the mouth area.
4) Shave under the neck up till the front of the face.
5) Use a grade 1 trimmer (finest possible level) around mouth and tash.
6) Use some aftershave.

The result is, dare I say, chiseled perfection. You are left with a goatee, but not left looking like a fool, as the goatee is barely noticeable.

I find this perfectly acceptable in the work place - repeating steps 1-6 ever 2-4 days depending on how manly you are.

1) Wet face with warm water, leave razor under the tap, to warm up the blades.
2) Use shaving foam around face, (personal preference the gel shaving foam, Gillette/Clineque.
3) Shave each side of the face, removing excess sideburns (big no no) leaving around the mouth area.
4) Shave under the neck up till the front of the face.
5) Use a grade 1 trimmer (finest possible level) around mouth and tash.
6) Use some aftershave.

The result is, dare I say, chiseled perfection. You are left with a goatee, but not left looking like a fool, as the goatee is barely noticeable.

I find this perfectly acceptable in the work place - repeating steps 1-6 ever 2-4 days depending on how manly you are.

A goatee is the only form of beard that is not manly. Even some women have them. Observe: